Mayor Briley said affordable housing is not a crisis. Well, it is to those who need it the most. | Plazas

For the past 11 months, photographer George Walker IV, and Opinion Engagement Editor David Plazas — with support and guidance from The Tennessean team — have told the story about the growing gap between prosperity and inequality in this booming city.

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The Nashville skyline glows at sunset May 25, 2017. Nashville is booming. The new people who move to Nashville and can afford the rising prices of housing can find a place to live in or near downtown, the heart of economic activity and jobs. Those who cannot are being pushed farther away from their jobs, community networks, social services and transit options.(Photo: George Walker IV / The Tennessean)Buy Photo

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Mayor David Briley told an audience that Nashville does not have an affordable housing crisis.

There’s no affordable housing problem in Nashville as long as you can afford the housing here.

That is a saying I have repeated at talks when the topic turns to affordable housing — most recently on Sept. 20 to the Nashville Neighborhood Alliance.

This concept comes from months of researching and writing about housing, change and growth in Nashville, where the cost of living has risen dramatically, not unlike other major cities across the country.

So, while it is true that the city is booming — and the region is growing at 106 people a day — those who are benefiting most are the ones who can afford to live in Nashville comfortably.

UPDATE: 2017 median household figures are now available. That figure is $58,490 — definitely better than in previous years, but still below that level of comfort (which includes being able to pay the bills, have disposable income and have savings).

“Right now in our town, affordable housing is not in a crisis — it's not a crisis — but it is a significant problem,” he told the Rotary Club of Nashville on Sept. 10.

For those who are struggling, particularly low-income and working-class residents, it is indeed a crisis that is exacerbating the growing problems of displacement and making it more difficult for employers to place employees in lower-wage jobs.

In addition, the city is having trouble meeting the need for more affordable housing in spite of ongoing efforts because of demand, pricing and the current propensity of builders to construct higher-income or luxury homes.

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Sallie Dowell stands on her porch at her Southside Avenue house. She has put a sign on her house reading "This house is not for sale" to keep real estate investors off her property. George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Buncombe County, North Carolina's former county manager, Wanda Greene, 67; and assistant county managers Jon Creighton, 66, and Mandy Stone, 59, were indicted Aug. 7, 2018, with a series of federal crimes, including taking bribes and kickbacks from contractors. The cartoonist's homepage, citizen-times.com/voices-views David Cohen, Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times

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How do you define a crisis?

Urban Housing Solutions, an affordable rental unit developer in Nashville, recently gave a tour of its properties to community members, which I joined.

The group, led by Executive Director Rusty Lawrence, plans to step up its efforts to meet needs for non-subsidized affordable housing — as many as 9,000 units over the next few years. He sees the affordable housing situation differently than the mayor.

Kay Bowers, executive director of New Level Community Development Corp., another nonprofit housing developer, concurred.

“We disagree with the (mayor’s) statement. It depends on what someone’s definition of crisis is and what someone's definition of problem is,” she told me.

A Google search dictionary definition for the term “crisis” comes up with “a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.” Another definition is: “A time when a difficult or important decision must be made.”

Briley said during and since his special election campaign last spring that housing is an important issue to him and he is calling for help from the private sector and philanthropic world.

However, no new housing plan has been released and the mayor’s housing office staffers, Senior Adviser Adriane Bond-Harris and Barnes Affordable Trust Fund Executive Director Morgan Mansa, recently left for other jobs.

Regardless if this situation is a problem or a crisis, it is a predicament that will only worsen without greater urgency.

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee and opinion and engagement editor for The Tennessean. Call him at 615-259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.